The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1887-04-28
PRESCOTTS CALAMITY.
Terrors of the Cyclone at a Kan
sas Town.
Houses wrecked and Fleeing Inmates
Hurled to Death-A Number Killed and
Many Others Fatally InJured-Ths
Town Nearly Wiped Out.

PRESCOTT, Kan, April 23.-A terrible cy-
! clone visited this place about $3.50 Thursday
evening, completely destroying the city.
! About 200 houses were demolished. 1t had
| been raining very hard and the waterfall
| was very heavy, when hailstones as large
as a goose egg fell, breaking many win
dows, when suddenly the regular furnel-
| shaped cloud could be seen rapidly ap-
preaching from the northwest fully fifteen
| minutes before the town was struck
| Houses could be seen twisting under the
heavy pressure of the mighty monster high
up in the sky. Every farm house In its
path, about one and a quarter miles
WIDE. was wrecked and many happy
| homes were destroyed. From twelve
miles northwest and eleven miles
southeast every thing was felled.
| Dick Harkness and his wife and four
children and a visitor-MIss Minnock, OF
Oakwood, Ill.-with their house and all
were carried several hundred yards through
the air and dropped in an adjoining orchard.
| They lit on large apple tree, escaping in
stant death. Mrs. Hardness, with an in
fant in her arms, was terribly injured and
the others were badly cut and bruised.
| Kit Hardness, brother of the above, and
and all were carried quite a distance and
badly injured, many limbs being broken.
The stable. costing s. 900, is tgtal wreck,
Manlove Brothers store and contents are
total loss. II. c. Trip, of McCord, Nave
& Co., Kansas City, Charles Blake and w.
| H. Billings were in the rear and were only
slightly injured while Jake Stephens was
at the front door and was struck by
heavy timber and felled to the floor, dying
of strangulation, the timber having fallen
across his neck. Those in the rear could
hear his means and cries for help but were
powerless, they being penned in as we'll
Miss Lena Sellers, aged twenty-eight, will
probably die She had just stepped out Of
E. Miller & Sons store and was struck by
q falling timber.
Mrs. Kit Hardness and children were
struck by timber driven completely
through their residence and severely cut
and bruised The house, a very large one,
the finest in the city, was damaged 5000.
Will McKale and family, who live one
mile and quarter northwest, were sitting
around the fire when the house was struck.
He was killed, and an infant taken from
Mrs. MckalCs arms was found dead
mile from the house. The rest of the
family were picked up insenSible from ad-
jacent parts of their farm. Four miles
northwest lived Mr.. and Mrs. Flynn, three
small children and young lady from the
East visiting them, Miss McDanz. They
were taken up with the house and carried
about a half mile Miss McDanz was
killed and the rest of them were badly
wounded. All were picked up insensible.
William Browning, who lived seven miles
northwest in fine new residence, had his
house taken up and not trace of It can be
found. No one has seen a piece OF 1t IN the
twenty-five miles heard from. His loss was
$1,000. The family fortunately-were in a
cellar and escaped injury At the Crone
residence nothing is left of their beautiful
house. Mrs. Crone was killed outright and
the others were found scattered over q
forty-acre field. Every business house in
town is down or ruined. The few standing
buildings are pierced full of timbers, while
the new Gulf depot is scattered over town.
The damage can not be estimated as the
town is ruined and probably will not be re-
built. Those killed are: viii McKale and
, infant, Jake Stephens, who leaves wife
and babe destitute; Mrs. 8. p Demug's
six months child, Mrs Sarah Crone, Miss
McGanz, Miles Deming's wife and child.
The mOrtally injured are: Mrs. Dick Hark-
ness and one child, Mr.. p. f. Flynn and
three children, Mr.. and Mrs. Jake Broach,
a small child of Joe Duncan, Mrs. Dug
Walker and Infant.
Others VINO were seriously though not
fatally injured were: Mr.. Kit Hardness
and wife and son, Neil; Mr.. Dick Hardness
and three children; Jim Woodbridge. arm
, broken; Ed Han, arm broken; ]. c. Krusig,
struck by timber; Tinky Carer, badly hurt
by hail stone; w S. Bogart, Jim Kinney,
Mrs. NJ Odell and infant, Mr.. Hogan and
, wife and William Campbell, struck with
tImbers. The Baptist and Methodist
, Churches were damaged about 81 900 each
One hundred thousand dollars would nC
more than cover the damage done to prop
erty. Very few places were insured against
cyclones.
Rich Hill junction, on the Gulf, small
village, is laid low, only three buildings ou
of about dozen being left standing. p. c
Shelton's residence, large frame house
: was found about two miles west and hi:
furniture and carpets were found in atom:
in Missouri four and One-half miles away
Fortunately every one was IN the cellar
Miles Miller's wife and child, living clever
miles southeast, started for cellar anC
; were blown into a well and drowned.
Prescott was a village of about 800 in
habitauts located eighteen miles north Of
Fort Scott, and there were about 20
houses in the village. An eye witness says
'The scene before the awful storm reached
4 Pre- scott is indescribable. Out from tht
, threatening northwest sky came the huge
funnel shaped cloud, twisting and writing
dipping to the earth and then ascending 70
height of 100 or more feet, ant
resembling the trunk of an enormous ele
phant. The cloud could be seen approach
ing for over seven miles. Deathlike still
t ness reigned for a while, and strang
fascination held the people spell-bOund
: Then the deep, sullen roar of the storr
could be heard increasing as The clou,
drew nearer The shrill, piercing
, shrleks of the women and childre
d running hither and thither seekln
5 escape from the awful fate whic
S menaced them were heard on all sides. A
the storm drew nearer it was seen to b
{ filled with, all manner of objects whirlin
: round and round; houses and barns wer
. drawn into the vortex, lifted to height o
q hundred yards, tossed to and fro, an
then dropped to the earth again, ahghtln
l. In splinters.
Lost With All on Board.
OTTAWA, Ont, April pa special fror
= Victoria, B. g., gives an account Of terr
: BILE shipwreck, accompanied by the loss @
| l. oht ~ ofTt